October 2010
Problem of the Month

Clock Problem

Below is a picture of the clock that one of Mr. P's daughters gave him for Father's Day.
Can you find two errors?

Solution to the Problem:

The errors are:
(1) 52 - x² + x = 10 does not yield just the number 7.
When you solve a quadratic equation, there are two solutions: -6 and 7.

(2) 3( - .14) does not equal 9.
does not equal 3.14 but continues infinitely 3.14159...

Correctly solved by:

1. Austin Hale	Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyoming
2. Levi Harmon	Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyoming
3. murrayb@kpmath.com	Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyoming
4. Hazen Dickerson	Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyoming

Send any comments or questions to: David Pleacher